Stolen Secret

by Piper Dow

  Chapter ten

  Kelly shifted nervously, then caught herself and forced herself to stop. She straightened her shoulders, wiping her palms on her hips and pulling in a shaky breath. This was her decision; this was what she wanted. Her eyes searched the patio for a sign of where she should go.

  There—a discrete placard next to the door at the far end. She stepped forward before her feet could freeze to the spot. She maneuvered around a few groups of people, eyes honed in on her target. She didn't even see the blonde girl until they bounced off each other.

  "Oh! I am so sorry! Oh, my goodness, I can't believe I just did that! Are you all right?" The girl spoke up from where she sprawled on the ground, the coffee she'd been holding now puddling around her.

  Kelly reached out to offer a hand to help the girl up. "I'm the one who is sorry! I was so focused on what I was doing I didn't even see you."

  The girl took the proffered hand and stood. Her platinum corkscrew curls bounced around her face, framing her cornflower blue eyes. Her pink lips might have completed a porcelain doll image if they'd been set in a pretty pout, but instead they revealed straight white teeth as she flashed a quick grin.

  "That makes two of us! I was trying to put the change from my coffee away one-handed. I should have been watching where I was going, instead." She grimaced at the spilled coffee at their feet.

  "Is there a coffee shop inside?" Kelly's interest was piqued. "Show me where it is, and I'll buy you another. I could use one myself."

  "Oh, no, you don't have to do that," the blonde shook her head, sending the curls tumbling again.

  "I would love to," Kelly insisted. "You'd be doing me a favor by showing me where it is. This is my first time here."

  The girl smiled. "Okay, then. I'm Bizzy." She stuck out a hand for Kelly to shake. " Are you going to be taking classes here?"

  Kelly shook her hand, confused. "You're busy?"

  "Oh, no! I mean, my name. B. I. Z. Z. Y." She grinned again, already leading the way into the building. "It's really Elizabeth, but everyone calls me Bizzy. My parents started it, and it's just stuck. Like a bee, get it?" Her voice, like her movements, was quick and light.

  Kelly followed her through the wide glass doors in the center of the atrium. Inside was a large open space covered by a vaulted ceiling. The building reminded Kelly of a train station, with exposed concrete walls and sweeping abstract murals made of inlaid tiles on the walls and floor. Vinyl clad benches grouped sporadically seemed to designate study or lounge areas. A coffee cart stood on an opposite wall from a sandwich shop, neatly distributing the number of customers and reducing lines for those buying. Bizzy led the way to the coffee cart and joined the end of the line.

  "So, are you taking a winter-session class?"

  Kelly shrugged, then nodded. "I think so. I mean, I'm here to see about signing up for one."

  Bizzy smiled, her expression bright and animated. "I'm taking two courses this session. I'm at Davis Community College, too. I wish I could have gone to Whyte, but they're like, almost Ivy League, right? My parents keep telling me, 'Bizzy, no one has ever asked us where we did our undergrad studies.' They say, get my associate degree where it's affordable and transfer for the bachelors and masters degree, if that's what I want. And I know they're right, I don't want a ton of debt, but I still think Whyte would be cool. I'm glad at least the Center is close enough I can attend sessions here."

  Kelly recognized Whyte as the name of the academy David had attended. She hadn't realized it was such a good school. She glanced around the atrium now, trying not to be too obvious. David told her the students at the academy had primarily been Shades. Was the same true of the Center? Were most of these people Shades?

  "Are you okay?" Bizzy's eyes focused intently on Kelly's face. "Do you want to go back outside? We can get coffee later, if you want."

  Kelly swallowed. Her heart raced. The air was suddenly too dry to inhale.

  "C'mon." Bizzy tugged at her elbow, abandoning the line and leading her back outside. "You'll feel better with a little fresh air."

  Kelly allowed herself to be directed to a low wall surrounding the patio. She sat, feeling shaky. "I'm sorry, I don't know what happened in there."

  Bizzy sat next to her, leaning forward so she could peer into Kelly's face. "You're not a Shade, are you? Are you a Light?"

  Kelly stuffed her hands under her thighs, trying to stop their trembling. She tried to take a deep breath, relieved to find the cooler air easier to draw in. Her mouth felt too dry to speak, so she bobbed her head in a quick nod.

  Bizzy's smile was gentle, but encouraging. "You'll be fine, with a little air. Just pick something to focus your eyes on - like, pick a brick. Try to notice every little thing about the brick. Think about what color you would call it, and whether or not it is all the same color, or how you would describe it."

  With Bizzy studying her face, Kelly tried. She picked the brick next to her foot, decided it was orange. A group of guys pushed the door open and crossed the patio, talking about a movie or something they had all watched. Kelly's eyes flicked to the group, then away. Were they noticing her, sitting here freaking out? Were they Shades? She glanced at the girl at her side. What was her story?

  "Are you a Shade?" She blurted the question out.

  Bizzy met her gaze. She was quiet for a moment. "I am," she finally said. Her voice was quieter than it had been when she was speaking inside, but still bright and confident. "I'm a vulpie."

  Kelly searched her face, trying to marshal her scrambled thoughts. A vulpie? What sort of animal was that?

  "Hey, Lukie!"

  Bizzy scowled and whipped her head around at the shout. "Go away, Pie. I'm not ready to go yet." Her raised response was intended to dissuade the man from approaching, but had no effect.

  "You're not in class, right? Which means we can go. I have a ton of studying today." Kelly could feel his curious glance, but his attention quickly returned to Bizzy.

  "Then start it in the library, or in the atrium," she directed. "I'll text you when I'm ready."

  He continued his approach until he stood just in front of them. Kelly closed her eyes, willing him away. She didn't want to make even more of a fool out of herself. She just needed to leave. Maybe she'd come back tomorrow.

  Next to her, Bizzy sighed. "This is my brother, Tyler."

  Kelly heard the reluctance behind Bizzy's introduction. She lifted her head, only mildly curious. Her eyes skimmed past his brown boots and worn jeans, traveling up to his freckled face. Where Bizzy's porcelain skin was smooth and flawless, his skin was a mass of freckles interspersed with an occasional patch of pale, unmarked skin. Kelly's eyes took in the white tuft of hair that stood up from his forehead, in sharp contrast to the spiked auburn shock styled with a carefree flair. She met his eyes. One was a rich, warm brown. The other was the same cornflower blue as Bizzy's.

  One eyebrow—the one over the blue eye—lifted as he met her scrutiny with his own.

  Kelly realized she was staring. She offered a weak smile. "Hi. I'm sorry, I guess I'm not feeling well today."

  His gaze flitted to his sister before returning to Kelly. A sudden grin split his face. "Nah, I'm just kidding with you." He stretched, pushing his arms out wide to the side and tilting his head from side to side. "Are you in Bizzy's ecogastronomics class? Sounds dreadful, to me. I'm taking astrophysics. I'm still thinking about jumping into the fermentation course in the afternoon, though. That sounds like a lot of fun."

  Kelly shook her head vaguely. "I'm not sure what course I'll be able to get into. I was heading to the office when I bumped into Bizzy." She felt dazed. It was hard to regroup her thoughts.

  "Pie!" Bizzy bit out the sharp reprimand. "Stop it!"

  Tyler shot his sister a smirk. "Fine, Bee." He stuck his hands into his pockets and refocused his attention on Kelly. "What course were you thinking of?"

  Kelly blinked. Her conversation with Janet discussing the courses offered at the Center floated to the su
rface of her memory, though half a minute ago it had been lost in the buzzing filling her head. "Um, there were two I was thinking about, one was called cryptid sociology, and the other I can't remember the name, but it had a ropes course in it." She shook her head again, testing to see if the buzzing came back. The cold air must be helping, though, as she could feel her mind clearing.

  "That's Adventure Foundations—I'm in that one!" Bizzy's smile was bright. She glanced down at her watch. "Hey, it's supposed to start in 15 minutes. What if you just come to the dome with me—that's where the class is. You can register after. That way you don't miss anything!"

  Her enthusiasm was infectious, but Kelly hesitated. "I don't know," she said, glancing back at the atrium she'd just left.

  Bizzy lowered her voice. "I'll sit with you, if you want. We can stay near the door. Maybe it would help to go in with a friend?"

  Kelly met her eyes. She took a deep breath, then nodded. "Thanks."

  They stood. Tyler fell into step next to Kelly as she followed Bizzy away from the patio.

  "The heck with fermentation. This is going to be way more interesting," he said, answering the unspoken question in her quick glance.

  Chapter eleven

  The dome was set in a screen of pine trees behind the building housing the atrium. If Kelly hadn't been with Bizzy and Tyler, she doubted she would have noticed it immediately. The walls were dark brown at the base that blended to dark green as they rose, then to light grey as they curved over to form the roof in the shape the building was named for.

  Inside the building were around ten students milling around in the foyer near large doors that Kelly realized would open to a gym. Over the door was a white sign that read, "Adventure begins here."

  They joined the other students waiting. Kelly stared at the floor, intent on not meeting anyone's eye. She heard the door open and lifted her head to see a fit man in tan pants and a navy blue polo shirt surveying the group. As the door clicked shut behind him he braced his hands on his hips and smiled broadly.

  "If you're here for Adventure Foundation, you've found the right place. If you're here for child development, you have about two minutes to find your way back to the atrium and take the stairs to the second floor on the East wing. I'd hurry, because I've heard Mrs. Staples can be a real bear." The wink accompanying his grin earned him a few chuckles. Kelly understood that the teacher must be a werebear.

  When no one left, the man slowly swept the crowd with his eyes. "Okay, then, you're all here for my course. I'm Blake Staples. I'm not big on formality, but the Center would prefer you to address me as Mr. Staples, so while we are on campus that's what you'll do. This course is designed to challenge you—physically, of course. We will be using our ropes course and repelling wall, as well as other things that will challenge your strength and endurance. The bigger challenge, though, will be emotional and social."

  He scanned the group quickly. "There are a few more of you than I was expecting. That's fine, as long as you all belong here. Is there anyone here who still needs to register for the class?"

  Kelly and Tyler both raised their hands, as well as two guys closer to the gym door. Mr. Staples considered Kelly and Tyler briefly before nodding, then studied the other two before giving them the nod, too.

  "Okay. I think we can do this without having to break into two groups. Those of you who aren't registered will have to do so before tomorrow, though."

  He opened the doors for them to enter. Kelly filed inside with the others, surprised to walk through a cloud of mist just inside the doorway. She sniffed, wrinkling her nose at the lightly scented vapor. It smelled a bit like coconut, or some beach-themed sunblock. Some of the others looked equally wary, glancing around at each other and what else might be in store for them.

  Inside, the gym had been set up already. Two pairs of chairs were set with their backs to each other. Each chair was spaced about five feet from its pair. A slender pole balanced across the tops of each pair. The sets of chairs and poles were 15 feet apart, and a rope was suspended between them, hanging down from a support beam. There was a mat on the floor on the other side of the chairs on the far side. On the closer side was a five-gallon bucket. Kelly recognized the arrangement as very similar to a game they had played in gym class when she was in high school.

  "This activity will give you a taste of what this course will offer. I'm sure that some of you have participated in this activity or one like it in the past, so you'll likely have an idea of what to expect." Mr. Staples said. He turned to face them, scanning their faces again. "However, few of you will have experienced the activity the way you will today. This task is simple, because what we're going to focus on is getting to know each other as we are. This course requires vulnerability. It requires honesty. It requires sensitivity. If any of that sounds like something you don't want to face—if you aren't ready to expose yourself as you are, to dive deep, then walk now, no judgment."

  A few of the students shifted nervously. One man cleared his throat. Kelly stared at the knot at the end of the rope hanging down. Next to her, Tyler shoved his hands into his pockets. Again, no one left.

  "Okay. Now, some of you are Shades, and some of you are Lights. Is there anyone here that doesn't know what that means?"

  Kelly's gaze flew to his face. The hairs on the back of her neck raised with the sudden increased intensity of the room. Mr. Staples began to walk, slowly and deliberately, through the group. As he walked, students shifted to keep him in view. He searched each person's face as he moved.

  Kelly fought the urge to take a step back as he came near. She felt Bizzy move at her side, but stayed rooted to the spot. Her chest felt tight as she brought her gaze up to meet his face. His eyes were piercing blue, but kind. She felt a sense of security settle like a blanket around her shoulders, felt the strain in her chest ease as she took a breath. He gave a barely perceptible nod and moved on. When he resumed his spot at the front of the group, the students were roughly formed in a circle.

  "We have a pretty even group today. There are seven Shades and six Lights among you," he said. Kelly's nervous glance darted around, skirting a few others doing the same, before she caught herself and forced her attention back to Mr. Staples. "So, this is a teamwork exercise. Your goal is to work as a team, to get everyone on the team safely across the ravine. This," he indicated the space around the hanging rope between the parallel poles, "is the ravine. If you knock off one of the poles, your whole team has to start again. Ready?" He clapped his hands together. "Go!"

  Kelly wasn't the only one startled by the sudden impetus to begin. It took a few moments before anyone moved toward the equipment. The rest shuffled over, frequently glancing at each other. Kelly, too, shot furtive glances at the others. Seven were Shades? She knew who two of them were, which ones were the other five?

  Bizzy smiled and greeted one of the guys as they joined the group gathering around the rope. Her animated chatter about buying dropped apples for pies was innocuous.

  The low voice at her shoulder had a teasing note. "Wishing you had picked sociology instead?" Tyler seemed content to watch Kelly rather than eager to jump into the team building exercise.

  Kelly turned to answer him and was caught off-guard again by his eyes. The spattering of freckles across his nose was marred by the impudent smirk on his face. She felt a surge of competitive drive welling up from her toes. He didn't think she was up for this? "We'll see," she smiled sweetly. She wound her way through the group to the guys talking near the first pole.

  "We have to figure out how to get the rope, first. That's a good idea for sending people over, but we can't do any of that without getting the rope first."

  "Yeah, I know, I'm just brainstorming."

  "What if we throw someone at the rope? If there was a girl light enough we could throw her, she could grab the rope and get it swinging..." He searched the group for a likely candidate.

  "How about we try throwing something else at the rope, instead?" Kelly suggest
ed. "Get it swinging that way, instead of risking tossing a body down the ravine?"

  The guy grunted his assent. He looked around for something to throw. Kelly shrugged out of her coat and weighed it in her hands, testing to see how best to throw it. She tossed it with some force so that it hit just above the knot. The coat clung to the rope for a second, until the forward momentum caused by the impact pulled the knot free and the coat dropped to the ground. Kelly leaned over the pole and reached out a hand to try to grab the rope as it swung back. Her fingers grasped empty air.

  She felt an arm wrap around her waist and pull her against a solid body as a hand shot past her head to grab the tail of the rope before it swung away. Before she could object he stepped back and released her. She twisted to see who had manhandled her and was met with a toothy grin of the guy who had suggested tossing a girl toward the rope.

  "That was quick thinking! And look," he held up the end of the rope he had snagged, "we didn't lose anyone in the ravine!"

  Kelly smiled hesitantly. She wasn't sure if she appreciated being grabbed unaware, though he might have knocked her into the pole if he hadn't.

  The other guy who had been brainstorming tried to organize the rest of the group. "Okay, we need a big guy to get on all fours on this side so we can help people up and over this pole. Everyone needs to grab the rope high enough to swing your feet over the pole on the other side, right? We'd better send a couple strong people over first, so they can help anyone who needs it over the pole."

  Kelly surveyed the rest of the group. Perhaps it was because Adventure was in the name of the course, but everyone looked pretty fit to her. When they had done this exercise in high school, she'd had one of the heaviest girls in the class on her team. The teacher had actually come over to tell them to just have her walk to the other side, because there was no way she was going to be able to use the rope and make it over the poles. The girl had turned a deep shade of red and disappeared into the locker room.